President William Ruto's Advisor on Women's Rights, Harriet Chiggai, has raised concerns over a Ksh3.4 billion pledge made by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta under Kenya’s Generation Equality Forum (GEF) commitments.
The funds, which were announced during the 2021 Paris summit, were intended to support gender equality programs, including the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), economic empowerment, and the eradication of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Speaking on NTV on Tuesday, July 1, Chiggai questioned the transparency, coordination, and actualisation of the GEF pledges, revealing that while commitments were made, no clear evidence exists that the funds were ever received or allocated through government channels.
“There was a commitment of almost Ksh3.4 billion ($25 million). It hasn’t arrived, but it was a commitment that was made. If it was released, where is it sitting? Who is coordinating it? These are the questions we must ask,” Chiggai said.
The GEF is a global initiative launched by UN Women and co-hosted by France. It aimed to mobilise billions in funding to advance gender equality worldwide.
Kenya was among the few African countries to make high-profile commitments, with the then-President Uhuru Kenyatta pledging to end GBV and FGM by 2026.
However, Chiggai now says that those commitments have remained on paper with no government fund or tracking mechanism in place.
Chiggai has stressed that while some civil society organisations may have received funding for specific components like research or advocacy, the government itself has not seen or managed the pledged funds.
“When you make a pledge for funding and that funding does not hit the budget, it means that money was not received. The political appointees may have left, but the civil servants are still in office. So where is the follow-up?” she questioned.
Chiggai has called for the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the commitments are fulfilled.
Meanwhile, she has assured Kenyans that the government is focused on curbing GBV and femicide cases in the country.
“In my office, we are looking at perpetrators and not the victims because we are saying we must zero rate GBV. There was a further commitment to zero rating FGM,” she said.
